Finance

The Canadian prime minister plowed ahead Thursday after his former attorney general alleged, in explosive testimony aired on national television, that he interfered in the justice system by pressing to end a criminal case against an iconic Quebec construction firm. Speaking to reporters in Montreal, Trudeau insisted again his government had every right to consider the job losses that could result from a guilty verdict for SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. (SNC.TO 0.61%) The scandal has suddenly made...

A federal housing agency hopes to see every Canadian with an affordable home by 2030 with a plan that lays out a path of experimentation to make it happen. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says today that meeting that 2030 target will take help from governments and the economy — hence the aspirational nature of the goal. An estimated 1.6 million households are considered in “core housing need,” meaning that people live in places that are too expensive for them or that don’t meet...

“It’s a lot more cost-effective to have me continue to provide that below-market, family rental housing … than it is for them to go and build it.” B.C.’s property assessment and tax system, which landlords large and small say increasingly threatens Vancouver’s stock of older, affordable rental homes, is apparently causing agreement in some unlikely corners. Patti Bacchus, the left-leaning former Vancouver school board chairwoman, is largely supportive of the B.C. NDP....

If you’ve been paying the bills in your household, you’ve probably noticed that some things have fallen in price (gas), and some things have been largely stable (shoes and clothing, for instance). But if you’ve been shopping around for an apartment to rent, you’ve probably experienced sticker shock. The cost of renting an apartment in Canada shot up 0.9 per cent in a single month in January, according to Statistics Canada, the fastest one-month leap in since August,...

In January, the average property on Rentals.ca was listed for rent at $1,854 per month in Canada overall, the median rent was $1,747 per month. It should also be noted that properties listed for above $5,000 a month and below $500 a month are eliminated from the sample of units analyzed. Also, short-term, single-room and furnished rental units are eliminated from the sample where identifiable. National Overview The chart below shows average rent levels in Canada by the property’s built form...

Few real estate investors aren’t sweet on student housing, and for good reason, but which regions in Ontario have the most to offer? The owner of Strauss Investments says cities with satellite schools are a good net because of their small but concentrated markets. “Laurier and Nipissing universities have satellites in Brantford,” said Strauss, who’s also a sales representative with Rock Star Real Estate. “In Kitchener, there’s the McMaster University Waterloo Regional Campus, and it’s its own...

Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz said the path toward higher interest rates is “highly uncertain” due to lingering questions around housing and investment, even as he stuck to his message that borrowing costs eventually need to head higher. Poloz defended the central bank’s five rate increases since mid-2017, and cited two reasons for why he’s been on hold since October last year: the impact of higher rates on indebted consumers; and risks to the investment outlook. “We judge that we will...

Vancouver is on pace to lose its status as Canada’s second largest housing market to Montreal. While still Canada’s most expensive city for housing, a recent collapse in sales has led the value of real estate transactions substantially lower. That leaves Montreal’s soaring market poised to overtake the Pacific coast city’s. In January, the total dollar value of real estate transactions in Vancouver fell to $1.7 billion (US$1.3 billion) on a seasonally adjusted basis, the weakest level since...

Elad Canada has completed a takeover bid of Agellan Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) emerging as a significant player in the North American market. Total consideration of the transaction is over CAD $400 million. Agellan’s portfolio of 44 stabilized income-producing properties are distributed throughout 11 high growth urban markets in the United States. The portfolio constitutes approximately 6 million sq. ft. of industrial and office properties, with an annual NOI of...

Three of Canada’s premiers brought an earnest, brass-tacks message to the U.S. national capital Friday: hit the reset button on one of the most important cross-border relationships in the world by ending American tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Despite their conservative sensibilities, Ontario Premier Doug Ford, Saskatchewan’s Scott Moe and Blaine Higgs from New Brunswick may seem a disparate trio. But their styles — Moe’s analytical approach, the folksy charm of...